Summer Baseball Check-In: Walking Off

by, Joshua Flanagan

JOSHUA FLANAGAN

SAN MARCOS – Not just one, but three Bobcats knocked in walk-off RBIs to win games for their teams last week. Mickey Scott ended a record-breaking 17-inning game with a walk-off sacrifice fly for the Altamonte Springs Boom while Derek Scheible walked off with a grand slam, and his High Point-Thomasville HiToms teammate Theodore Hoffman used a walk-off single to win.

Scheible and Hoffman play for the High Point-Thomasville HiToms in the Coastal Plain League. Ryan Newman and pitcher Brandon Lewis also play for the HiToms to give the team a strong Texas State representation.

Last Friday, Scheible put together a strong day culminating in his walk-off grand slam to beat the Florence RedWolves. In a 7-7 tie in the bottom of the 10^th, Scheible’s teammate Hunter Slater led off with a single. After that, Florence committed an error, but then made an even more egregious error. The RedWolves intentionally walked a batter to load the bases and get to Scheible. The outfielder from Robstown made them pay with his third home run of the season. Scheible ended the day with two hits, two runs and five RBIs from the leadoff spot, boosting his total to 16 on the season, tied for second on the team. He’s batting .318 in 11 games with 14 hits, 10 runs, seven extra-base hits and a .636 slugging percentage. With two steals and a .354 on base percentage, Scheible has been strong in the outfield without an error and even an assist.

Hoffman, normally known for his power, is swinging for a strong batting average of .326 so far this summer season. He’s tallied 15 hits in 12 games with six runs, six extra-base hits and three RBIs, notching a .380 on base percentage. It was one of his three hits on the day that did in the Martinsville Mustangs last Wednesday. Martinsville took a 6-5 lead to the bottom of the 10^th inning with a win in sight, but Hoffman had other ideas.

After his teammates loaded the bases and scored on a wild pitch to tie the game, Hoffman knocked a single to left field to plate the winning run and end the game. Batting third in the lineup, Hoffman finished the day 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs, including the winning one to push HPThomasville to 12-6 on the season. The HiToms are currently second in the Coastal Plain League’s West Division at 16-7 on the year.

Meanwhile, Scott, playing for the Boom of the Florida Collegiate Summer League, lifted his team to a 6-5 victory over the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs on Saturday to end the league’s longest game ever – 17 innings.  The Boom went to the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 5-4 before tying the game to push it to extras. From there, both teams played nearly another entire game before Scott clinched the victory in the 17^th. His teammates loaded the bases with a triple, a walk and a hit by pitch before Scott swung on an 0-2 pitch to send the ball to left field and end the marathon game.

Playing first base in that game, Scott, normally a third baseman, has tallied six hits with two RBIs and six runs scored in seven games so far this season with a walk, three hits by pitch and two stolen bases. The Boom are currently 9-7 sitting third in the league.

Continue to check back at www.txstatebobcats.com throughout the summer for updates on Texas State baseball players. Fans can also look for summer baseball league information here.